Negotiating Survey findings

S

Seaniemed

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Hi all

Am in a bit of a pickle with my house purchase. I would appreciate opinions on a number of issues so please bear with me if this seems long-winded.

Sale agreed and approaching contract signing stage on a red brick Dublin property which is approximately 100 years old. It has, however, undergone significant/complete refurbishment in recent years. As part of my mortgage approval with BOI I was required to carry out and forward to them a building survey.

The survey has not identified any major structural issues and in fact finds the house in good condition. It does, however, identify the need for some minor repairs to the roof (in good condition) such as ventilation slates and repairs to lead flashings. It also asks for inspection of the drains, a manhole creation in the patio, and inspection of the chimney. There are a few other things but nothing outrageously big.

The issue is that the surveyor costed these things at 10-12k. The underwriters want evidence of these funds before giving mortgage (which currently I do not have). I have attempted to get the underwriters to look at the list of suggested repairs to see that nothing is urgent or structural but to no avail.

I have enlisted a builder to hopefully give me a more palatable quotation, and have also asked a mortgage broker to see if I can get a mortgage offer from another bank without needing the repair funds.

My question is, has anyone managed to escalate issues through a bank to get a common sense decision? If there was an unsafe structural issue I could understand the reluctance but this is a bit much. I must add that I can source the extra funds, but would prefer not to.
 
Seaniemed said:
My question is, has anyone managed to escalate issues through a bank to get a common sense decision?
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I doubt it.

Seaniemed said:
I must add that I can source the extra funds, but would prefer not to.
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The bank will probably be happy to see that you have the extra funds available. I doubt they would insist that you spend the money.

If you don't resolve with your current bank, get a different surveyor. And tell them not to put any prices on their report. Maybe use an engineer rather a surveyor.
 
Or ask the vendor for a reduction in the price if these are material defects. But they probably are not material in a 100 year old house where you would be expecting to spend €10k or €20k to get it up to standard.

Brendan
 
Brendan Burgess said:
expecting to spend €10k or €20k to get it up to standard
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Up to standard?
You'd spend that much on a kitchen!

Once a building survey report has gone to the bank, the only thing you can really do is get an engineers report that's more specific. That'll cost 1200+

In my limited experience, surveyors point out all the stuff they didn't check to cover their asses, and make things sound bad.

Seaniemed said:
inspection of the chimney
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To be honest, if you don't have 10k for repairs, I'd be wary of buying a 100 year old house without checking the chimney. It'll cost a few hundred quid, 1 item checked off the list, and you'll know what you have.
 
RedOnion said:
Up to standard?
You'd spend that much on a kitchen!

Once a building survey report has gone to the bank, the only thing you can really do is get an engineers report that's more specific. That'll cost 1200+

In my limited experience, surveyors point out all the stuff they didn't check to cover their asses, and make things sound bad.


To be honest, if you don't have 10k for repairs, I'd be wary of buying a 100 year old house without checking the chimney. It'll cost a few hundred quid, 1 item checked off the list, and you'll know what you have.
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lucky it is only 10 to 12K,
 
A few ventilation slates and a bit of lead flashing + looking at the manholes and a drain inspection. I'd love to know where he got his 12k from? Just let the bank know you have the funds and i'd imagine that's the end of that. However, a 100 year old brick house that has been extensively refurbished would give me great hope that very little is amiss. As a matter of interest what BER was the house if you don't mind me asking?
 
Thanks all for the replies. The BER is D1.

Indeed I agree regarding the chimney inspection so I am hoping to get that done pre contract signing. I suppose I want the timeline of repairs to be further down the line as I would engage in other renovations at that point. Hopefully things will resolve. If anyone has experience of negotiating these things with banks please let me know.
 
Just arrange the funds to be available when drawing down. You don't need to spend the money or address the issues immediately, so you could repay the facility you used and costs should be minimal. But as others have said, a house of this age will require regular investment to maintain in good condition, so make sure your finances allow for that before taking the plunge.
 
Hi all, an update for those who took the time to reply or who may be in the same boat - I ended up contacting the surveyor and he was very familiar with these scenarios. He has written a supplementary letter stating that no essential works are needed (to clarify, this is not what I requested - I merely said could he take a second look and if something was genuinely essential in a time/structural sense I wanted it included out of honesty, and the remainder removed), and the BOI valuers have accepted it and sent it to underwriting. I am reasonably confident that the mortgage will be approved with no amendments (BOI manager agrees). Of course we will need to wait and see.

My take home points for those who are as naïve as I am:
  • Be pushy with surveyors around wording. Make them qualify every essential recommendation.
  • Try to avoid pricing on the main report. Ask for it separately.
  • The valuers appear to have final say on pricing etc. Involve them early!
 
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